Welcome to my review of the Wileyfox Swift smartphone.

I have been using the Wileyfox that cost me just under £100 on Amazon UK. This has been used as my main phone. I am a heavy power user, so how did the Wileyfox Swift cope? And in case you are wondering why I am using the Wileyfox Swift, it is due to the loss of my Note 7.

First let’s take a look at the specifications.

The Key Specification

– Dual Sim (micro sims) plus a third slot for the micro SD card
– Cyanogen OS – Android 6.01 with latest 1st September 2016 update
– 5″ HD IPS Screen, Resolution 1280 x 720 pixels (~294ppi), Corning Gorilla Glass 3
– 16GB storage, 2GB RAM,
– micro SD support upto 32gb
– 13MP main camera, 5MP front camera,
– 2,500 mAh battery
– Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 410 8916, Adreno™ 306 GPU
– Themes, theme creation,
– AudioFX for music delivers 24bit High Res Lossless audio with several equaliser presets with full modification allowed
– Caller ID & Truecaller Dialler can identify & block spam calls
– Cyanogen email & calendar powered by Boxer for integrating multiple accounts
– Cyanogen web browser for enhanced security & fast performance
– Privacy guard allows you to monitor how your phone shares data
– PIN Scramble for added lockscreen security
– Protect individual apps in secure, lockable folders on your homescreens

Phone Basics

The Wileyfox Swift is no speed king. It has a snapdragon 410 which means at times it is slow, lags and can get flustered if I am trying to do too many things. However, I pushed the Swift way beyond what is was designed for. I connected my Samsung Gear Fit 2, Garmin Smart Index Scales, my lights, security cameras and weather station to the Wileyfox Swift. I then installed every social media app, added all my email accounts and then installed more apps until I had a total of 60 apps. Occasionally, it all became to much for the phone, and the only cure was a quick reboot.

The screen has reasonable viewing angles, and is super bright and visible in sunlight. In fact the auto brightness was always too bright, that I turned it off and often had brightness set at the lowest setting. At night, it is too bright though. The phone is prefitted with a screen protector. Neat touch.

The phone is super grippy. It is also easy to hold and use one handed.

Phone calls were ok, the call quality was average but it does have Truecaller installed to help identify who is calling. Except this feature never worked. This is a dual sim phone too, which is useful.

What did impress me was all the firmware updates that occurred at first boot, 3 in total, taking me to android 6.0.1 and the 1st September 2016 security patch update. Also I do like Cyanogen’s skin. It is light and offers helpful functionality to make the phone easier to use. It also has the option to create or install themes. I was able to make my Wileyfox Swift look like a HTC and Sony phone.

The phone recommends using a micro SD card up to 32gb. I have been using my Sandisk 64gb card. The phone also has the option of converting the card and using it as adoptable storage.

Battery life is not its strong point for my usage and power needs. With bluetooth, wifi permanently switched on and location services left on high, screen on time ranged between 2 to 2.5 hours. I often found I need to charge it during the day. There are power saving options, but I never used them. The other point to note is the micro USB socket needs a slightly longer connector on the cable. Out of 20 micro USB leads two thirds of them wouldn’t stay plugged into the port. One just fell out. The supplied micro USB lead works just fine. In a period when batteries are sealed into the device, the Wileyfox Swift bucks the trend. The battery is user replaceable.

Camera and Audio

The camera app follows the Google camera app which some extra shooting modes for good measure. But let’s not beat around the bush, the camera is the not the best and by a fair margin when you compare it to the Samsung Note 7 iPhone 6S Plus. However, apply an instagram filter and nobody would know any better. Video is terrible too. Below are some photo samples from the phone.Low light introduces a lot of noise. However, as you will see below there are some ok shots. I also have created an album of photos from the Wileyfox Swift – Click HERE.

The Dartmoor Prison shot was converted to black and white to make it look more interesting.

Just some sheep and landscape shots.

Capturing some of my dogs running was a surprise.

When Tiggy spun her body to shake the water off, again I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had captured the moment.

Whilst the camera is not up to my standards, the audio is fantastic. The loudspeaker is reasonable, the headphone amp is too. On board is AudioFX which really helps improve the sound. The biggest surprise was bluetooth audio. I paired it to 3 bluetooth headphones. The B & O Beoplay H5, Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 2.0 and Bluedio V (Victory) Pro 12 Speaker headphones. The sound quality was excellent.

Conclusion

The Wileyfox is no speed demon. Neither does it have flagship specs. But it does allow 2 sim cards and also a micro SD card which can be used as adoptable storage. It has a Cyanogen OS installed which is superb on this device. At around £100 this is a cracking piece of kit and somewhat of a surprise. As a power user the phone kept me connected and I really loved the bluetooth audio.

For more info and the latest pricing on Amazon – Click HERE.